Deceptive Confessions
by Masked telepathic heiress
Summary: (Summary changed) Naruto responded to Hinata's confession and they get together without either knowing his true feelings. Unfortunately, they find out at the altar in front of everyone. Hinata feels mislead and ends the relationship, while Naruto tries to fix things. He only succeeds in mending their friendship as Hinata moves on. Gaahina, SasuSaku (sorry, Naruto, you're single)
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

The village hidden in the leaves has always been an upbeat place. Mostly all the villagers had good lives and families, so they had no reason to be upset. Even when their home was destroyed by Pein, Konoha's inhabitants still had their loved ones to lean on. However, some lost some ninja friends/family in their long fight against the Akatsuki.

After Naruto defeated Pein, he was considered a hero. All he needed now was his true love by his side. His hopes of finally having Sakura were crushed when she turned back to Sasuke when he returned a month later. I suppose you could say that's what started this whole mess.

Chapter 1: Confessions

Naruto dragged himself to the new Ichiraku ramen stand. "Everyone did great at rebuilding the village," Naruto said to himself. Things were starting to finally look up since Sakura started to date Sasuke. In all honesty, Naruto was glad his friend was back, but he hated Sasuke for waltzing back and stealing his Sakura-chan away.

He and Sasuke sparred from time to time still, and Naruto actually beat Sasuke in today's match. He was exhausted, but beating the crap out of the bastard felt good. Don't get confused, now. Naruto still loves Sasuke like a brother. It's just that he's jealous and still a bit bitter about him leaving. "Hey there, Naruto! What's with the long face?"

The voice of old man Ichiraku broke through Naruto's gloomy thoughts and he jumped up to the counter. "It's nothing to worry about, I was just thinking about stuff." Forgetting about his troubles, Naruto happily ordered his food and prepared to eat.

**Later in front of the Hyuga compound's gate**

"A-aah, that was some good ramen!", Naruto sighed as he walked past his apartment building. It was already dark out and he decided it'd be good to go on a little stroll before bed. Slowing down, Naruto's eyes landed on the Hyuga gate. His mind drifted to Hinata's confession earlier and he wondered about his own feelings. Hinata was a sweet, thoughtful girl. She always had been, and Naruto could see himself settling down with her and having a nice, happy family. He completely stopped and glanced up at the gate sensing another presence. There was Hanabi standing there staring at him. "Naruto-san, are you in need of something?" Naruto stared at her. _"She sounds similar to Hinata, but she looks a lot different. Actually, she looks a lot alike all the other Hyuga. Dark brown hair, pale eyes... Hinata has lavender eyes with dark blue, silky hair..." _His eyes widened a fraction and he burst out, "Is Hinata home? I need to tell her something!" Hanabi's brows furrowed and she huffed. _"Obviously she doesn't like loud people who stare at her. Oops." _Hanabi turned and motioned for him to follow. "Be quiet while you are here. The elders do not appreciate rude behavior." The blonde teen looked at her warily, wondering if Hinata secretly hated it as well. That thought was erased as he remembered her feelings for him. She was too kind to hate anything anyway.

They entered one of the houses and took off their shoes. "Follow me, her room is at the end of this hallway." Hanabi led him down a long hallway to the very last door on the left. She knocked gently and received an invitation to enter. "Hanabi-chan," Hinata's cheeks reddened as she addressed him as well, "Naruto-kun, may I help you?" Naruto's own cheeks reddened as he thought about what he came to do. "Ah, demo... Hinata, may I speak with you," he paused slightly and glanced at Hanabi, "privately?" Hinata nodded quickly and looked to Hanabi, silently signaling her to leave them.

"Hinata-chan, I was thinking about what you told me earlier when fighting Pein." He began. Blushing, Hinata nodded for him to continue. _"Oh gosh! This is horrible, I know how he feels about Sakura-san, I hope I didn't hurt him or make anything awkward!" _He continued saying, "I may not love you back, but I think I'd like to. So, would you like to be my girlfriend?" Finishing the sentence quickly, he hoped she understood his jumbled words. Pale, lavender eyes stared back in disbelief. Her ivory skin flushed bright red as she fainted with a smile on her face.

Months passed, and soon it was Naruto and Hinata's one year anniversary. Naruto decided he had indeed fallen in love with her and confessed his feelings back. They agreed that they loved each other enough to live with each other, so they shared the news of their engagement. Ino and Sakura seemed very pleased to hear this and shouted, "I'm so happy for you two, you're so adorable together!" Sasuke stood to side as all their friends congratulated them. Looking towards Sasuke, Naruto frowned. His friend wasn't even pretending to be happy, he was glaring at him! _"Does he have feelings for Hina-chan as well?! Or maybe he thinks I'm just trying to get over Sakura and is jealous. No, that couldn't be it, besides..." _Naruto began to ponder on if he really did love Hinata. It didn't feel like when he loved Sakura. It felt so inferior or less intense? _"I'm over thinking this! Why am I so worried about this, he's just being a grump like usual." _Naruto decided to ignore him and continued with the festivities.

**AN: Hey! This is my first fan-fiction, so I'm not quite sure I even did this right. (I'm horrible with technology and I'm not especially skilled at writing.) I don't know if this was super lame or if it'll get better when I bring in more to the story, but I'd like to know. Please leave a review and let me know if you didn't like anything or you'd simply like me to change something. This story is a slight AU since I'll be changing some of the things like age or someone who's dead may be alive. A random plot bunny attacked me and I decided I'd post this, so I've only though about 3 chapters ahead. **

** I know that the fight with Pein was a LONG time ago in the storyline, but I just couldn't write this post-war. I've finished the manga as well, so I'm not totally new to Naruto and I think I can write this fairly accurate... but I have not watched/read all of Naruto so some things may be wrong, I don't know. Please do review, flames are totally welcome! I hope you liked this if you decided to keep reading! (If people do like this I'll most likely update every week or every other day depending on my schedule.)**


	2. Chapter 2

** Thank you for the reviews, I'm glad people actually saw this. Chapter one probably seemed rushed since I really wanted to get to the next chapter. (I just hadn't finished it yet.) I am not going to bash ANY characters, but if I somehow do, I apologize in advance. It may seem like I'm bashing Naruto but in following chapters you'll see that it was confusion on Naruto's part. **

** I don't know how weddings are in Japan except for what I read on Wiki, and I probably couldn't write a paragraph on what I know, so I'll probably mess something up. Sorry!**

** Since this is going to be a Gaahina there will be no Naruhina. I've been a Naruhina shipper since the beginning but I decided I'd do something different. I also changed the summary since it was incorrect in some places, so in advance I'll let you know that it won't be a Narusaku either. The pairings are Gaahina and Sasusaku. Naruto may or may not remain single, it depends. **

** So, hopefully this chapter will clear things up as well. (And no, I don't own Naruto.)**

Chapter 2

_"It's been a week since our engagement and I'm still confused. I know I love Hinata-chan, I just don't know if I played this right. I should given it more time, I'm just rushing this. But... I really do love her. Ah, who am I kidding, this will all work out. Sasuke's stupid glare was just messing with me. He's probably jealous that I have such a beautiful fiance!" _Naruto had been laying in bed thinking all day. He knew he loved Hinata enough to marry her, but he felt like there was something else. _"What if I _am _rushing? I don't want to hurt anyone." _

Luckily nobody had noticed Naruto's foul mood this week. Unless you count Sasuke, that teme could sense anything. Ever since their engagement Naruto had Sasuke's sharp eyes trained on him. Sasuke was a very good friend of his, but dammit, Sasuke was starting to piss him off! He had no right of judging what he did, and his constant glaring was messing with Naruto. It was like Sasuke knew something he didn't.

-*.*.*-

Hinata skipped towards Naruto's apartment with a huge smile plastered on her face. She hoped he'd like what she had planned for their dinner tonight. Once they had started dating Hinata had taken it upon herself to properly feed him. She'd come over whenever she could to cook him proper meals so he wouldn't just eat ramen. Boy, was he lucky she was a great cook! He'd be screwed if she insisted on making him eat inedible food.

Finally she reached his door and knocked. In a matter of seconds Konoha's legendary knucklehead had whipped open the door, only to hit his head with it. She blinked in surprise as he yelped in pain. Giggling softly, Hinata walked up to him and kissed the whelp on his forehead. "Naruto-kun, be careful!", she gently scolded. He chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head. "He-he, well, I was really excited to see you so I was a little clumsy.", he admitted. Her smile widened as she nodded in understanding. "I just wish you'd get out to the door's way. This is the third time now!"

They both laughed and walked to the kitchen. "So, what's for dinner?" Pausing in her step, Hinata looked at him with a glint in her eye. "I'll be nice tonight and make ramen." "WOO-HOO! You're the best Hina-chan!" Jumping in the air, Naruto tackled her with a bear hug. A light blush crept up on her cheeks and she hugged him back. _"I'm glad I can make you happy, Naruto-kun."_

-*.*.*-

(The next day)

Dating Sakura wasn't a bad thing, he really did like her. He felt guilty for leaving Sakura the way he did, so he took it upon himself to make her happy. After awhile he finally realized he had certain feeling for her and they started dating. At first he was wary about dating her, but it wasn't bad at all. She wasn't annoying like she used to be, and she had become stronger and even more beautiful over the years. He sighed in regret. Sometimes he wished he'd never left. Maybe then things wouldn't have gotten so messy. Kind of like his current predicament.

Sasuke was happy for Naruto and Hinata, he thought it was great they found love in each other. Although, Naruto definitely was rushing things. That was pretty obvious to him, he didn't know why no one else thought so too. Sighing again, Sasuke wondered if Naruto had understood his unspoken message. At the engagement party- if that's what you want to call it- Sasuke had pointedly looked at Naruto. He knew Naruto saw the look. Was he stupid or was his glare not enough? "Guess I'll tell him if things don't improve.", Sasuke begrudgingly muttered.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme! Over here!", Naruto's voice bellowed through the street. "We're heading to Ichiraku's, wanna come?" Sasuke stared at his friend with obvious displeasure. Around them people grumbled at Naruto's boisterous behavior and looked their way. "Shut up, you idiot." Like usual, Naruto ignored his friend's grumpy attitude and dragged him along. "The wedding's next week, can you believe it? I bet Hina-chan's gonna wear the prettiest kimono ever!" Along with Naruto and Sasuke were Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Kakashi, and Rock Lee. Lee ranted about the power of youth and love while everyone else smirked at Naruto's excitement. Well, all expect for Sasuke and Neji. Who knows about Shino, since his coat and glasses concealed any emotion he might be showing.

The men visited various places throughout the night. After eating ramen Choji wanted barbeque, so they went and ate some barbeque with him. Then Kiba, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Lee wanted some drinks so they went to a bar. However, Lee did not get to drink alcohol for obvious reason.

The night was considered the bachelor party for Naruto, though he wanted to have another one. Gaara and his siblings were come to Konoha and he wanted to celebrate with them too. Hinata later consoled him saying they'd celebrate together at the wedding. That was good enough for him. Knowing he'd have all his good friends there with him greatly improved his mood. _"If only Pervy-sage could see_ _me now."_

-*.*.*-

"Oh no, where are my shoes? Sakura-chan, have you seen them?" Hinata was worrying over everything as she rushed through her room. It was the wedding day and she lost her shoes 30 minutes before the ceremony was to begin! "I got them, Hinata-sama, calm down, please.", an old maid scolded. "Ah, sorry, I just thought I wouldn't find them in time," she stuttered back. The old maid chuckled in amusement as she exited the room. Hinata sighed in relief and thanked the maid before she left. Next thing she knew she was being flung back into a chair by Ino and Tenten so they could finish her hair. "Alright," Ino huffed, "I'm finished with your bun! Your hair is a lot thicker than it looks, that was hard!" Tenten stood from her seat on Hinata's bed and admired Ino's work. "OK, we're done!" Tenten said smiling broadly. Nervously, Hinata glanced at the mirror to see the girl's creation. She gasped at what she saw.

Light mascara and lavender eyeshadow had been applied to her eyes along with a touch of blush on her cheeks. Her long indigo hair was pulled into a bun with a braid wrapped around the base of it. The pins that held her hair in place were simple but alluring as well. They were dark purple with white a small diamond in the middle. Simple but attractive; just like her. What she liked the most about her attire was her kimono. It used to be her mothers, so it was very special as well. It was very intricately designed with the top half being pristine white. Halfway down her thighs it became a light purple, making the fabric from her knees down a deep shade of purple. Lace-like flowers seemed to float down her sleeves and land on her skirt. When she moved about it was if they were floating in the wind towards their new home. _"I wish mother were her to see me wearing her kimono. I only hope I make it as wonderful as she undoubtedly did."_

-*.*.*-

"Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, I'm glad you could make it," Tsunade welcomed the sand-nin. They had arrived late, unfortunately. Their arrival time should have been two days ago but a problem made itself known and needed to be resolved as soon as possible. So, here they were twenty minutes before the wedding. Temari ran past Tsunade with her brother in tow yelling, "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" They arrived at the Hyuga compound in a matter of seconds thanks to Temari's remarkable speed. A surprised guard let them in when Temari barked, "Let us in we're late!" Thankfully he recognized the Kazekage and informed them another guard would escort them to the appropriate rooms.

In the men's room:

Everyone else had left but Sasuke and Naruto. An uncomfortable silence passed through the room and Naruto shifted slightly in discomfort at Sasuke's stare. "What is it you're trying to tell me, I'm gonna be late! You've been like this ever since the engagement-" "Are you sure you're ready?" Naruto gaped at what Sasuke asked. Of course he was ready, all that was stopping him was him standing there stalling him! "Naruto, don't marry her if you're not completely sure of your feelings." Not sure of his feelings? What was he talking about, it wasn't making any sense. "Sure of my feelings? You think I'd marry her without loving her?!" "That's not what I'm saying!" Sasuke inhaled and started again. "If you marry Hinata when you aren't positive you don't still love Sakura you're going to hurt her." A knock at the door broke through the tense atmosphere. Sasuke glanced back at Naruto quietly saying, "Think about what I said." Naruto stared in shock at Sasuke's retreating form.

Gaara stood at the other side of the door with Kankuro behind him. Sasuke let them in and quickly walked towards the garden to take his place. He was late, and if Naruto stood in there thinking the whole time he'd chidori him into the next dimension. Back in the room, Gaara quirked a hairless eyebrow at Naruto's countenance. Deciding to ignore it, he told Naruto in his baritone voice to join the others outside. Naruto- thankfully- came out of his reverie and plodded to his destination. "Man, it looked like he was rethinking this," Kankuro grumbled. "If I came all the way here only for them to break it off I'm gonna be beyond pissed." "He is worried, think nothing of it," Gaara responded. Though in truth, Gaara knew what was going on. He hoped Naruto knew what he was doing or he'd be sorry he ever started things with Hinata.

In Hinata's room:

Hinata was just about to leave with the other girls as Temari bounded around the corner with her bag in hand. "Sorry I'm late I just need to put this on and some mascara!" Sakura yanked her inside and ordered the other girls to help Temari get ready. They quickly shoved her in the shower to rinse off (they only gave her thirty seconds), only to shove her back in the room and pull on her apparel. Mascara was applied and in a matter of three minutes Temari was ready to leave with the other girls.

They made it down the stairs and hid Hinata away from the doors so no one saw here when they walked out. "You ready Hinata?", Ino asked with a playful nudge. "Yes!", Hinata replied with the biggest grin. "Alrighty, see ya in a minute. Don't trip!", Sakura joked as she turned to walk out. "H-hai...", Hinata stammered. Her father stood next to her ready to lead her down the aisle. "You look beautiful, Hinata," her father said, "I'm very proud of you. Although, I can't say I'm too happy of your choice in spouse." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Arigatou, otou-san." He smiled faintly and they began to walked down the aisle together.

Everyone there turned and looked at her. She could see all their senseis, the Rookie 9, the whole Hyuga clan, and dozens of others she didn't recognize. Either they were invited since she was the heiress of the great Hyuga clan or Naruto's friends she's never met. No matter, they were equally welcomed to witness their marriage. Though, the atmosphere didn't seem as joyful as she had imagined. Perhaps it was her future husband looking past her shoulder rather than into her eyes as she walked up to meet him. His eyes weren't full of happiness either. They looked as if they were full of uncertainty and guilt. The guests slowly began to realize the situation and frowned. This was not definitely what they were expecting.

Her father glanced at her warily and took his place. She walked up next to Naruto and looked into his eyes with fear. "Naruto, what's wrong?", she whispered. "Hinata, I'm sorry, I didn't know. I mean, I knew I just didn't-" "What?", Kiba barked. "I swear if you're leaving Hina-chan for another woman I'll-" "Kiba-kun, stop," Hinata inhaled and exhaled shakily. "Naruto, do you love me?" Tears filled his eyes as he nodded. "Then what's the matter? Why won't you look at me? Have you cheated on me?!" Her voice rose and she had to breathe to calm down. "No, I'd never do that to you! It's just... I can't marry you when I still have feeling for someone else. Even if she doesn't love me back. I'm sorry, Hinata."

It was deathly silent. Nobody knew what to do, but when the hand flying through the air hit it's target everyone gasped. Naruto finally looked up to see Hinata's tear stained face glaring at him. "How could you? Why didn't you tell me? You decided to tell me now, in front of everyone and embarrass not only me, but my family for inviting all these people- some from other villages- only to have you tell me you love another?!" Her voice raised to a shout and she slapped him again; harder. "Leave! Get out!" She shrieked as the tears began to flow freely. Her gasps for air turned into sobs as her tiny fists began to beat at his chest in a desperate attempt to hurt him as much as he just hurt her. Sasuke ran up and pulled Naruto away feeling responsible for all of this. No longer having anyone to hit, Hinata covered her face and wept uncontrollably. The girls swiftly worked to get the guests out and comfort Hinata. Ino and Sakura helped Hinata gently away from the others and towards her room while Tenten and Temari worked to quickly escort the guests away, apologizing profusely.

"Naruto, I'll kill you!", Kiba screamed, kicking at Shino who held him back. "Kiba, wouldn't you rather help Hinata than pummel him?" Kiba blinked to clear his red vision. Begrudgingly he turned to head towards where Hinata undoubtedly was. "Right, come on, Shino. We can't have her falling apart."

Kankuro was beyond pissed. Dammit, why did he have to go jinxing things? He strolled over at Gaara who was standing in a corner watching Naruto with anger in his eyes. "Gaara, what's got you so mad?", he questioned. Gaara's head slowly turned to look at his brother. "I'm not an expert at things like this," he began, "but I do know that what Naruto has done in unjust." "Unjust, huh? How so, little brother?" Gaara paused before muttering, "There's no way someone can not know they love another." Kankuro thought on this and agreed. Maybe Naruto was too dense or too excited about the wedding to realize. "That's probably what Sasuke told Naruto that got him so worried. I'll ask one of them later. Actually, I'll talk to Temari about this, she's good at these kinda things." Gaara turned back to watch the scene and motioned for him to leave. "'Kay, I'll wait until she's done with Hinata, though." "Whatever needs to be done." Looking back towards Naruto's distressed form Gaara made a promise to himself. _"I'll never hurt someone I love."_


	3. Chapter 3

** I'm back! I want to say thanks again to my wonderful reviewers, you guys are awesome! I also want to say that if you're going to leave a harsh review, at least let it be constructive. And if you don't like the pairing, go ahead and leave the story alone. OK, on to the chapter. (Still don't own Naruto)**

Chapter 3

"It's been a week... we need to get Hinata-chan out of her room and get her back to her old self," Sakura groaned as she attempted to reach her phone that had fallen behind a table. Ino looked up from her flowers suggesting, "Maybe we can go drinking?" Sakura abruptly stood and shook a fist at Ino. "You just want to go flirt with hot guys!", she bellowed. Shaking her head in annoyance Ino threw a pen at her friend. "No, I thought that maybe some alcohol could get Hinata's mind off of things!" Rubbing her forehead where the pen hit, Sakura sighed in defeat. "Yeah, OK. I'll call her and see if she'd like to go." "You're gonna need your phone to do that, billboard brow," Ino taunted.

Hinata sniffled and reached for her vibrating phone. She'd been avoiding talking to anyone all week, but she felt like it was time to answer the damned phone. "Hello?", she answered. _**"Hinata! Your voice sounds horrible, are you OK? -Ino, give me the phone!- Shut up, forehead! Anyway, do you wanna go drinking tonight at eight?" **_Hinata blinked in confusion at Ino's call. Ino knew she didn't drink. In fact, she had never drank alcohol in her life. Maybe some sake was what she needed, though. "I guess... some drinking would be nice." She heard arguing in the background and a crash, but finally Sakura answered back, **"Alright! We'll pick you up then!"**

"Hinata-sama, who were you talking to?", Neji's voice sounded through the door. "Ah, Neji-nii, come on in," Hinata invited him in. "Are you planning to go to the bar tonight?", he questioned sternly. Hinata stared at his rough expression and answered truthfully, "Hai, Neji-nii. Sakura and Ino invited-" "Which bar?", he asked frantically. "Um, I don't know, probably the one on the other side of the village. Ino goes there often so-", she was cut off again by him nodding quickly and exiting her room. Staring at the spot on the floor he once stood, Hinata questioned his mentality.

Later in the evening Neji sneaked out of the Hyuga complex. He was planning on warning the guys that they should go to the closest bar. In all of Konoha there were two bars: one near the old Uchiha compound, and the other all the way on the other side of the village. Kiba had suggested they go out drinking with Naruto to get him drunk, but now the girls were going drinking too. Hinata had said they'd most likely go to the farthest bar, so he had to warn them so they wouldn't run into the girls.

Hinata carefully walked out of the Hyuga gate to meet up with Sakura and Ino. When she looked over at them she saw that Temari and Tenten had joined the party. Temari gasped at Hinata's attire and pulled her back toward the house. "You aren't going out wearing your usual clothes!", she reprimanded. Once they reached her room Temari yanked her drawers open and threw clothes at her to wear. "Frankly I'm surprised you even have a tank-top!" Hinata clumsily grabbed the gray tank and black shorts and ran to the bathroom to change. When she opened the door she ran into Sakura who led her back down to the others. Sakura kindly complimented her outfit while Ino cat called and shouted, "You're body is great, you should show off more often!" Hinata blushed and crossed her arms. "You're just enhancing the view by doing that!", Ino chuckled while dodging Sakura's fists of fury.

Laughing, they began to make their way to the bar. "Which bar are we-", for the third time that day Hinata was cut off, only this time it was a body that interrupted. She nervously glanced up to see who she bumped into only to squeak in horror. _"The Kazekage! Oh no, I'm so stupid!" _"I-I'm s-sorry, Gaara- I mean Kazekage-sama!", she stammered. Her face immediately became a dark red and she ducked her head in shame. He simply nodded once and asked, "Where are you going dressed like that?" Hinata's head snapped up in surprise. _"'Dressed like that?' He must mean my new outfit. I never leave the house without my jacket on." _"Uh, we're going to the bar," she timidly answered. He stared at her with his hairless brows furrowed. Temari noticed the awkward atmosphere and ran up to him to ask if he'd accompany them on their way there. Gaara wasn't given any time to answer as Ino latched onto his arm and pulled him along with her.

-*.*.*-

"It's all your fault, Sasuke. If you hadn't have said anything I would've been happily married right now!", Naruto slurred out to Sasuke. Sasuke glared and yelled, "It would've been worse if she found out when you're already married!" Kiba stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "I'm confused, what are you talking about?!" Sasuke glared and explained the conversation that occurred before the wedding ceremony. In the middle of his explanation Kiba growled and left saying he needed to calm down, leaving the remaining guys to share their feelings on the matter. Naruto simply sat there as the guys argued over whether Naruto did or didn't screw it all up. Neji ended up telling Naruto, "Hinata is very broken about this, and whether it was your fault or not doesn't matter. The elders are furious and want Hinata to marry another man as soon as possible to clear up their name." Naruto's head shot up and he frantically asked, "What? Why?!" Neji exhaled in exasperation and started to clarify. "The elders are embarrassed that their heiress was jilted by the only man she'd ever dated. So, they want her to marry a man of great power to 'fix things'."

-*.*.*-

Ino animatedly spoke to Gaara the whole time, trying to get him to respond. Hinata giggled as she saw his facial expression; he was definitely not enjoying her attention. Gaara looked at her in confusion and she blushed again. _"Why'd I giggle out loud? I keep embarrassing myself in front of the Kazekage!"_ Tenten became annoyed by Ino as well and attempted to get Ino away from him while Sakura ran up ahead of them. "Oi, Sakura, what are you doing?!", Tenten yelled after her.

Sakura raced into the bar towards the booth the guys were seated at. "Sasuke, there you are! Hey guys, nice to see you, I'll be taking him for a second. Thanks!" Sasuke was then gone in a flash of pink. "There he goes...", Lee whispered. "Man, he's whipped," Shikamaru mumbled into his glass.

The next thing Sasuke knew was that they were in the bathroom and Sakura was telling him to get the guys to quickly go to the other bar. Or at least end the night there. "Hold on, I can't get their drunk asses all the way across the village, and they'll refuse to stop drinking. Besides, what's your deal?" Sakura huffed and said, "We brought Hinata here to get her mind off of Naruto, but if she sees him it'll all be ruined!" "I'll get them out by the next hour," he sighed in defeat. Sakura straitened up and smiled widely. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun," she whispered and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, whatever," he grumbled as he left the bathroom with her.

Once Sakura got out of the bathroom she saw Gaara leaving the girls outside. She ran back outside to grab Hinata and sprinted to the far right of the bar. Strategically choosing a table where Hinata couldn't see the guys, she sat down. The others realized what the problem was and sat around Hinata to totally block her vision of the bar. "So, Hinata, what do you want to drink?", Tenten asked. "Anything's fine... um... actually, I've never had alcohol before." Tenten laughed and told her to drink until she passed out. "I don't think I brought enough money-" "It's on me! Oh," Ino squealed, "look at that hottie!" Hinata smiled faintly and watched her friends trying their hardest to cheer her up. _"Maybe it _will _get better..."_

-*.*.*-

The guys left in an hour just like Sasuke said they would, and the girls loosened up and began to rate the guys around them. Ino brought Gaara into the conversation and said he was, "Totally a 9.5." They all laughed throughout the night. Like expected, Hinata got drunk before anyone else. It got really late and Temari and Tenten left first saying they had work to do tomorrow. Sakura realized that Ino was pretty wasted too, so she had the responsibility of bringing them home. "Ugh, c'mon guys, time to go." She only earned an answer from Ino, which meant she had to haul an unconscious Hyuga back home. "Great, I can't carry her and control Ino at the same time!"

Thankfully she made it outside where she could call for help. "The guys are probably all drunk so I can't call them. Maybe I'll call Kakashi-sensei." The phone kept ringing and ringing until Sakura had to hang up. She went ahead and tried Sasuke, but he didn't answer either. "The only guy that didn't go drinking and would be up this late is Gaara," she murmured in despair. Dialing the number, Sakura prayed he'd agree to help.

_**"Hello?"**_, his rough voice sounded extremely displeased. "Hehe, sorry, but I need your help." Silence followed her statement until she heard a small exhale on the other side. _**"What do you need?"**_ "Well, Temari and Tenten left and I have to get Ino and Hinata home. Can you carry Hinata home while I get Ino back to her place?" _**"Where are you?"**_ "Outside of the bar. So you'll do it?"_** "I'll be right there, but keep the blonde away from me. Especially since she's drunk."**_ Sakura laughed and said thanks. _"Alright, now I just have to wait."_

Gaara appeared five minutes later and hauled Hinata onto his back. Fortunately Ino was too busy doing who-knows-what to notice him so he got out of there with no problems. Everything turned out better than Sakura expected, so she got home and went to sleep peacefully. Hinata, however, woke up the next morning having an epic hang over and threw up a lot (in the toilet, don't worry.) Next she had Neji come in and tell her the situation with the elders, and Hinata cried. Neji was uncomfortable at the sight of her tears and accidentally said the wrong thing which made it worse. He decided he'd call Tenten over to help and left right as she entered Hinata's room.

Tenten somehow managed to calm the sobbing heiress and gave her some water and medicine. "Sounds like you need a break from the village," she whispered as she rubbed Hinata's back. "Y-yeah, that would be nice," Hinata sniffled. "I can go ask Lady Tsunade if she'll let you go help out in another village if you'd like?" Hinata glowed in happiness at her offer. "Arigatou, Tenten!" Tenten chuckled and stood up to leave. "I'll ask her when she's in a good mood, then."

"My lady, there's someone here to see you," Shizune peeked into Tsunade's office. "Bring them in," her deep voice bellowed through the room. Tenten stepped in and paused in front of the Hokage's desk. "Yes, Tenten? Do you need something?" Tenten decided she seemed happy enough and cleared her throat to begin. "I was going to ask if it'd be alright for Hinata to leave the village for a bit?" Tsunade stopped writing and squinted at the young brunette. "Is this concerning the marriage and Hyuga problem?" "Hai." Tsunade motioned for her to leave saying, "She'll depart to Suna with Temari in a month. You may go." Tenten smiled widely and bowed before departing.

"Lady Tsunade, are you planning something?", Shizune worriedly asked. Tsunade guffawed and replied, "I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. How much do you wanna bet she's going to marry Kankuro?" Shizune's eyes popped as she stammered, "T-there's no way that would happen! She'd most likely make-out with the Kazekage before she'd marry his brother!" Laughing even harder, Tsunade yelled, "Gaara?! That's preposterous!"

** Yes, chapter 3 is done! I hope you liked it, it took me forever to figure out how to end the chapter. I think I did OK, though. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sweat glistened over her pale skin as they traveled to Suna. Accompanying her was Shikamaru, who was supposedly going for village reasons. She giggled as an image of Shikamaru and Temari cuddling popped into her mind. She quickly wiped her smile off her face and blushed when Shikamaru glanced at her. Sighing, she decided to pick up her pace so she could arrive sooner.

Waiting at the gate was Temari- like she was supposed to. It was her duty to welcome visitors to the village, though she wished she could do something more entertaining. "It's about time. Are all Leaf shinobi this slow?" Shikamaru grumbled and walked past her which made her chuckle. Both females followed him and Temari began to chat with the heiress.

Talking with Temari was nice, but now Hinata was slowly starting to feel like the third wheel. Temari had shifted her attention to the genius ahead of them and they began to talk about the recent apprehension of a rogue ninja. It was rather adorable how they thought nobody knew about their "relationship." Forcing herself not to giggle again, Hinata looked away to distract herself. She noticed the sky was getting darker and soon there would be no blue in the sky. She knew Suna didn't get much rain, so she was glad that they'd finally get some.

She accidentally bumped into Shikamaru which notified her that they had arrived at the Kazekage's office. Temari didn't bother knocking and slammed the door open. "Alright little brother, here's your guests. Where are they staying?" Gaara didn't look up but answered , "They may stay in the dorms below." He seemed to remember something and continued with slight irritation, "The clumsy maid cleaned their room, so check to see if anything's broken." Temari exhaled slowly and opened her mouth to say something but he beat her to it. "No, she's not madly in love with me. You may go." Hinata looked between the two and wondered if she should do something about their strange behavior. When she saw Shikamaru's expression she hesitantly told herself it wasn't anything to worry over.

When Hinata was shown her room she rushed into the bathroom. Sighing gratefully, she welcomed the draft she felt on her hot skin as she peeled off her soaked clothes. She blushed as she realized how gross she must look covered in sweat. By looking in the mirror she concluded that she did in fact look as gross as she felt. Her bangs were sticking up in various places and stuck to her forehead along with her clothes clinging to her body from the sweat. "Ah, I'm disgusting! I can't believe the Kazekage saw me like this!" Sniffing a few times, she noticed she didn't smell very pleasing either. Ignoring the mirror she stripped down and jumped into the shower. It felt incredible to rinse away the dirt and sweat.

A knock sounded at her door and she hurriedly wrapped a robe around herself. She cracked the door open a bit and saw Shikamaru standing there. He hadn't noticed her appearance and motioned for her to follow him. Hinata panicked as she saw him turn to walk and squeaked, "Wait!" He turned back around to see what the problem was and his eyes quickly darted away when he saw her. "Um, I-I will need t-to change first..." After she said her piece she spun and slammed the door shut.

Shikamaru was already embarrassed at his stupidity, and the snort of amusement from Kankuro wasn't helping. Kankuro was standing there with an extremely pleased expression. "Kankuro, why are you here?", he asked through clenched teeth. The puppet master smirked and replied (rather cockily), "Gaara sent me after you to assure this wouldn't happen. Looks like I was too late, but hey, I'm not complaining." Shikamaru snapped at him to leave, and Hinata could hear Kankuro's laughter echo down the hallway as he strolled away a minute later. Shikamaru grumbled about troublesome perverts and thought back to his father's lessons on how to treat a lady. "Treat them like a queen or it'll be a pain," is a quick way to sum up what he'd told him.

A quiet creak alerted him to Hinata's arrival in the hallway. She was wearing her usual pants, but a short sleeved t-shirt replaced the baggy jacket. "Thank you for what you did just now. It's awkward when guys..." She trailed off uncertainly and wondered if she'd said too much. _"I should have just thanked him and shut up," _she thought. He ignored her and walked away with her trailing behind him nervously.

Gaara was waiting for them in front of his office and told him to leave them. Then he looked back to her and he spoke with authority, "Tsunade 'requested' that I would not send you on missions, but I wanted to know what you'd like before I agreed." Her pale eyes widened in shock. _"Why would he ask me this when he's supposed to accept the Hokage's order?" _He noticed her obvious bafflement and continued, "I thought that you would rather go on missions than stay in the village." Smiling slightly, she realized he was asking as a friend. Though they were only acquaintances, he cared enough to decline the order even though he knew Tsunade wasn't asking for approval. He was bound to get yelled at later. His thoughtfulness made her lips spread into a huge smile. "Thank you, Kazeka-" he frowned at the name so she started again. "Thank you Gaara-sama. I will gladly accept any mission presented to me!" She spun on her heel and dashed back to her room. Seeing her so happy confused him greatly and he tried to dismiss her behavior with a light color on his cheeks.

These feelings were dangerous. For some strange reason her smile made his chest feel weird and his mind drifted back to Yashamaru. When he had asked him about the pain in his chest it had felt different from this ache. That meant that his feelings were of a completely different nature than pain, which wasn't good considering her situation at the moment. _"Maybe I'm overreacting. I'll ask Temari about it tomorrow." _He immediantly regretted thinking that when he entered his office and saw his sister sitting at his desk with a sly glint in her eyes.

**I'm so sorry about the late update! I thought for sure that I'd have it up a LOT sooner, but it's been weeks, so I apologize with my whole heart! Anyway, I got a PM asking why Naruto is remaining single, but all I can tell you now is this: you'll see later on in the story. If you want someone in particular to be paired up with him, go ahead and let me know. I can't say that it's guaranteed to happen, but we'll see! **

** I'm warning you now that updates will not be regular. So don't be surprised if I randomly update cuz this thing has no schedule! I hopefully won't make you wait any longer than a month, though. **

**Hope you've had a great 2015 so far!**


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